Kazakhstan raises gold portfolio in foreign exchange assets

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.13

Trend:

The gold and foreign exchange assets of Kazakhstan’s National Bank have grown by $6.7 billion or almost 25 percent as of late 2020 (compared to late 2019), making up $35.7 billion despite the very difficult year, Trend reports referring to the bank.

During the year, amid the unstable situation on the world markets, the gold prices showed an increase to record levels. So, the price of the precious metal grew from $1,523 to $1,891 per ounce or 24 percent. Due to this, the portfolio of gold in the assets rose by $4.7 billion.

The high share of gold in the composition of gold and foreign exchange assets has fully justified itself, making it possible to replenish and maintain gold and foreign exchange assets at a stable level against the background of deteriorating external conditions. Assets in gold provide safety and protection against a possible decrease in the attractiveness of assets in foreign currency.

The growth of the gold portfolio wasn’t the only factor in the growth of gold and foreign exchange assets. A significant increase was also observed in foreign currency accounts of second-tier banks with the National Bank - about $2.6 billion.

The influence of positive factors was partially offset by the payment of the state debt in the amount of about $1.4 billion, as well as foreign exchange interventions.

In December 2020, the reserves of the National Bank increased by $3.2 billion due to the inflow of foreign currency within the tax compensations from the Karachaganak Consortium for $1.3 billion and a government loan from the Asian Development Bank in the amount of 900 million euro. Due to the rise in the price of gold from $1,772 per ounce, the gold portfolio also grew by $1.6 billion in the month compared to the same month of the previous year.